just practice
by knuffled
Summary: "So I'm taking you on dates and stuff, but we're not actually together?" "Yeah, exactly. It's just practice," Annabeth said, nodding. "Just practice," Percy echoed. "Just practice," Annabeth confirmed. Percy locked eyes with her silently for a few seconds before he took a long sip of his milkshake. "Do we have a deal?" Annabeth asked. "We have a deal," Percy said.


The entire mess had started because of a single off-hand comment in the locker room before the first cross country meet of her senior year. Annabeth had been in the middle of changing into her track clothes when she heard one of the younger girls complaining about the fact that her boyfriend wasn't coming to see her run at the meet. Her friends chimed in with a chorus of agreement, but then one of them whispered something that made Annabeth stiffen as she pulled her hair into a ponytail.

"Yeah, the captain sure is lucky. I wish my boyfriend would come to every meet like hers does," one of them sighed. "Maybe I should ask her for advice."

Before Annabeth could correct whoever had spoken to tell them that she did not, in fact, have a boyfriend, Clarisse interrupted and said, in an annoyingly loud voice, "She can't help you. After all, Annabeth's never had a boyfriend before."

When the other girls made noises of surprise, Annabeth turned to her and glared, bunching her hands into fists. Clarisse met her gaze and smirked, "Or am I wrong, Chase?"

Annabeth opened her mouth to say something but stopped, realizing that she didn't really have anything to say. "Wait, she and Percy aren't dating?" a girl whispered to her friend, frowning.

Although she'd heard some version of this exact question every year she'd been in high school, it never got any less exasperating. "Percy and I are just friends. Now, the meet starts in two minutes, so hurry up instead of gossiping," Annabeth said sternly.

The girl who'd spoken cringed and looked away in embarrassment. Annabeth thought that was the end of it, but then Clarisse laughed and said, "Looks like I hit a nerve. I didn't realize you were that insecure about not having a boyfriend, Chase."

Annabeth felt the entire locker room watching as her face turned red. "Imagine going through all four years of high school without having been on a single date," Clarisse jeered.

"That's enough," Annabeth shouted, but she could feel her face burning with embarrassment. "The meet is starting now."

"Whatever you say, _captain_," Clarisse said, purposefully knocking shoulders with her as she walked past.

Annabeth screwed her eyes shut and took a shuddering breath. There had been animosity between her and Clarisse throughout all of their high school years, that manifested mainly as a quiet, mutual distaste for one another, but everything had come to peak when at the start of the year Annabeth had been named captain instead of Clarisse. Ever since then, Clarisse had become actively antagonistic towards Annabeth by refusing to listen to her during practice, making snarky comments whenever she got the chance, and generally making life as difficult as possible as she could for her.

She forced herself to forget about it as she stepped out of the locker room and made her way outside. There was a chill in the early September air that carried the promise of a swift autumn to come. Annabeth found a patch of grass for her to begin her stretches and did her best to clear her mind. Five neighboring schools were also participating in the meet, which meant that there were a few hundred kids participating. She stood up after finishing her stretched and looked at the tents set up at the edge of course, searching for Percy and his ridiculous banners out of habit before she caught herself. Her face burned as she recalled the fiasco in the locker room.

Thankfully, she didn't have much time to dwell on it as a voice over the PA announced that the women's 5k was beginning in two minutes. Annabeth forced herself to take a deep breath before she made her way over to the starting line. As she jostled for a place, Annabeth felt her thoughts disappear like ripples disappearing on the surface of a pond. It felt like an eternity before the official fired the gun to start the race, but she didn't feel an iota of anxiety. If you asked her, Annabeth would say that this was the best part. This was what she lived for — the final moments before the start of race when everything else faded to black except for the path in front of her. Then, with the sound of the gun, she ran.

~oOo~

Annabeth crouched over and pressed her hands against her knees trying to catch her breath. Her chest heaved as she swallowed great lungfuls of oxygen. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to Percy grinning down at her. He was wearing a blue Westwood Swim Team sweatshirt and board shorts.

"You did great!" he beamed, opening his arms for a hug.

"I'm all sweaty and gross right now," Annabeth protested, breathing heavily.

Percy scrunched his nose and said, "Yeah, on second thought, I'll pass. You stink."

"Asshole," Annabeth grumbled, punching his shoulder.

Percy grinned and said, "Go take a shower. I'll wait for you in the parking lot."

"What are we doing after?" Annabeth asked.

He hummed thoughtfully, like he was going to say something thoughtful, before he shrugged and said, "Dunno. We'll figure it out."

"That hardly inspires confidence," Annabeth grumbled.

"Yeah, yeah, mopey. I know you didn't get first, but it's only the first meet of the season."

Annabeth crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. "I'm not moping," she said.

Percy leaned in and pressed a finger to her forehead. "Hm, these creases beg to differ. Now go get showered."

"Alright, alright, jeez. Give me ten minutes," Annabeth muttered.

After her shower, Annabeth found him sitting on the trunk of his old blue Honda Accord, scrolling through his phone. When he noticed her approaching, he shot her a smile and slid off the trunk.

"Did you see the banner I made this time?" Percy asked, grinning.

"I have a feeling you're about to show me," Annabeth said warily.

Percy opened the trunk of his car and unfurled a large paper banner with the words sloppily hand-painted in all caps. It read: ANNABETH CHASES VICTORY!

Annabeth wanted to groan when Percy shot her a shit-eating grin.

"Do you get it?" he asked.

"You've made those dumb puns out of my last name every season now — you can stop asking me if I get it," she said exasperatedly.

Percy sniffed melodramatically and said, "That's all you have to say to me after all the hard-work and love that went into making this?"

"Just get in the car, you dork. I'm hungry," Annabeth said.

Percy rolled his eyes and opened the doors to his car. "Alright, you absolute terror."

"Dullard," Annabeth quipped, sliding into the passenger's seat.

"What're you in the mood for?"

"Martha's?" Annabeth asked hopefully.

Percy turned his key in the ignition and adjusted the mirror for good measure. "Martha's it is. But you better not steal all of my french fries like you always do. Order some for yourself this time, I'm actually begging."

"Shut up, you love it," Annabeth said.

He muttered something under his breath that she couldn't make out and pulled out of the parking lot. Martha's was a diner that had been around since the 50's, and it was still decorated the same way it had been since the day it opened, but Annabeth just thought that was a part of the charm. They had the best fries and milkshakes in town. She and Percy had been there together more times than she could count. It was something of a tradition to go there after track and swim meets to celebrate, and as such the drive was a familiar, comforting one.

Percy rolled down one of the windows and rested his arm against it as he drove. The wind blew through his unruly hair, making it even more chaotic than usual. Annabeth reached over to comb it down with her fingers out of habit when she stiffened. Clarisse's words rang in her ears, and she felt her face prickle and burn. Percy noticed as she pulled her hand away and raised an eyebrow.

"What? Something wrong with my hair?" he asked.

"There's always something wrong with your hair," Annabeth shot back.

Percy frowned and looked at her. "Is something wrong? Your face is all red."

"I'm fine," Annabeth squeaked out.

He looked like he was going to press her on it but mercifully let it go. For the rest of the drive, Annabeth couldn't bring herself to look at him. Even once they got a booth at Martha's finished ordering their food, she preoccupied herself with staring out the windows instead of meeting Percy's concerned gaze. She drummed her fingers against the table and counted the cars driving by outside.

Annabeth started when Percy's hands rested on top of hers. "Hey, are you okay? You seem kind of off?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Everything's fine," Annabeth lied.

There was a brief pause before Percy said, "Is it the cross country meet? I know you didn't get first, but fifth out of hundreds isn't that bad, you know?"

"It's not that," Annabeth said, sighing.

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's okay, but you know I'm always here for you right?" Percy said.

_"Imagine going through all four years of high school without having been on a single date."_

"It's just really dumb," Annabeth muttered.

Percy gave her a significant look and said, "I highly doubt that."

Annabeth had to resist the urge to groan. Why was he being this difficult? She couldn't just come out and say that he was the problem. Stupid Percy. If he didn't look so good driving, then she wouldn't have gotten this dumb idea stuck in her head. More than anything, she was frustrated by how she was so affected by Clarisse's words. It wasn't like guys hadn't asked her out before. She'd just never had a good reason to say yes. Her life was so busy that she couldn't really handle a relationship on top of everything unless she was really sure about it. But now that it was senior year and college was around the corner, wasn't it going to be really strange if she started her freshman year without any experience dating at all?

It was the unabashed concern in Percy's eyes that finally made her sigh and say, "It was just something Clarisse said to me before the start of the meet. It's just been bugging me that's all."

"What'd she say?" Percy asked.

"She made fun of me for having never having gone on a date and stuff," Annabeth said, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger.

Percy scoffed and said, "That's a really dickish thing to say."

"Yeah," Annabeth agreed, but her voice sounded hollow even to her ears.

"There's still something on your mind though," Percy said.

Annabeth bit her lip and said, "I'm just— I think she does have a point. I don't want to go to college having like zero relationship experience."

"That's perfectly normal though," Percy said.

"Easy for you to say," Annabeth scoffed. "You've already gone out with like three girls since freshman year started."

There was a brief instant where Percy's expression turned hard but it softened so quickly that Annabeth was almost sure she'd imagined it. Now that she thought about it, Percy barely mentioned anything about those relationships with her. Not that she'd wanted to know. But she was his best friend, so it was a little weird that he'd never talked to her about it. All of a sudden, she felt really embarrassed, only just realizing the gulf in experience between them. Her eyes darted to his lips as Annabeth wondered if Percy had already had his first kiss — she was positive that he had.

Percy opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Annabeth blurted, "This is going to sound really weird, but I have an idea."

When he gave her an expectant look, she said, "What if— What if you and I tried dating? You could like teach me all the stuff that you're supposed to do in a relationship and stuff. It'll be like trial run of a relationship, just so I know what it's like. That way by the time I get to college, I won't be a complete idiot about it and stuff."

Percy's expression was inscrutable, which unsettled her greatly. She'd known him from the age of seven, and there had never been a time in all those years that she had been unable to tell what he was thinking — except for now. The silence seemed to span an hour, and Annabeth felt her stomach sink.

But then Percy softly asked, "Why are you asking me? I thought you hated when people asked you if we were dating."

"Because you're Percy," Annabeth said. "I'm more comfortable around you than anyone."

There was a strange look in Percy's eyes as he asked, "And you're sure about this?"

Annabeth's throat was dry as she answered, "I am."

"Ok, then let's do it."

Her heart skipped a beat. "Yeah?"

"Don't look at me, you're the one who started the whole thing," Percy said, raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't think you'd say yes," Annabeth said.

"Of course I'd say yes."

_Ah, there was that strange look again._ "Oh," Annabeth said.

"I do have one question," Percy said. "What happens once it's over? Break ups can ruin friendships. I'm not agreeing to this unless I know we're both going to be okay after it's over."

"There's no way that'll happen," Annabeth said dismissively.

"You'd be surprised," Percy said.

"It's not a real relationship, though. You're just going to teach me what it's like to go out with someone. It's not like we're actually going to be, you know," she said vaguely, trailing off.

Percy stared and said, "So I'm taking you on dates and stuff, but we're not actually together?"

"Yeah, exactly. It's just practice," Annabeth said, nodding.

"Just practice," Percy echoed.

"Just practice," Annabeth confirmed.

Percy locked eyes with her silently for a few seconds before he took a long sip of his milkshake. "Do we have a deal?" Annabeth asked.

"We have a deal," Percy said.


End file.
